I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1353: Sael Takes Command of the Wall

The black creature that had shielded them from the devastating columns of javelins finally drew close and landed hard on the battlements, its massive claws punching through stone like rotted wood. The second creature followed suit.

Sael swung down from his mount and landed on the wall. He cast a scrutinizing look across the soldiers and instantly recognized a man wearing a blue tabard and silver chest plate, his hair tied in a bun and his face weathered by years of service.

He walked toward the man, who watched him with open skepticism.

Then, as Sael drew closer, the man quickly lowered his head, bowing politely.

”You saved us, thank you so much. Did that man send you?”

”What are you doing?” Sael’s voice cut through the noise of the siege. ”Shouldn’t you be targeting the javelins themselves and stopping them from hitting the gate? Why are you idle?”

The man’s face shifted, his expression hardening.

The Captain stammered.

”We—we t—tried, we tried, it’s pointless! Their weapons are so durable! It’s no use.”

”So you’re just going to stand around and watch your wall get torn apart?”

A frown creased the man’s weathered face.

”Look here, young man, are you questioning my authority? We—”

Sael’s hand shot out and seized the Captain’s throat mid-sentence. The man’s eyes bulged, his hands clawing at Sael’s grip as his face reddened. The grip only tightened. The struggle weakened.

”Your authority?” Sael’s voice was flat, almost conversational. ”The absurdity of you power-drunk men never ceases to amaze. Your nation faces annihilation and what concerns you is whether I’m questioning your authority. I can already see how incompetent you are. Your incompetence has cost your soldiers their lives. It has cost your nation catastrophic damage.”

He released his grip. The Captain crumbled to the stones, coughing and clutching his throat, desperate for air.

Sael turned to the soldiers lining the wall.

”I’m taking command of this wall.” His voice carried across the vast expanse, silencing everything else. ”And I want you all to do one thing. Just one thing.”

Soldiers who had been looking away now turned. Those who had been retreating stopped.

”By all course, from this point hence, never let those javelins reach the gate. We stand against the Empire. Erase those sour expressions from your faces. You cannot win against a powerhouse by luck or by depending on the stars for their light of salvation. We must do this ourselves. The burden of protecting your land... do not shift it to another due to a lame excuse such as chain of command. Lift it yourselves. Be individualistic. If you think you have something that can protect this wall better, then do it!”

Something shifted in the soldiers’ eyes as Sael spoke. The defeat that had settled over them began to crack.

He scanned them all, then turned to the sky. Another volley of javelins was already arcing across the heavens. But the soldiers did not wait for his command. They seized their ballistas and turrets, swinging them toward the incoming projectiles. Essence poured into the weapons. They fired.

The explosive force collided with the javelins mid-flight.

Indeed, the javelins were impossibly durable. A single shot did not destroy them. But it slowed them. And when a javelin slowed, another soldier fired, catching it just as it descended toward the wall. That shot did not destroy it either, but it knocked the weapon completely off course, sending it spinning harmlessly into the dirt beyond.

Seeing this, the soldiers’ morale soared. They did not stop all of the projectiles, but even those that struck had been slowed by the barrage. The wall shuddered but held. The damage was a fraction of what it had been.

Another volley was already climbing into the sky. The soldiers locked in once more, already loading and tracking their targets.

Judgment watched all of this and nodded with approval.

”When I become priestess, I will award you the position of Commander General of my army.”

Sael gave her an incredulous look.

”Why would you do that? Do you intend to tarnish the worth and reputation of your city?”

Judgment frowned. ”Well, these are cities, and yet their worth and reputation aren’t ambitious. Don’t you people revere and fear the Empire because they have a powerful army? How does that tarnish their reputation? Even Northern is wary of them.”

Sael gave the lady a strange look for a moment, then shook his head.

”I have traveled far and wide. I have fought wars of many kinds across the Central Plains. It is why I understand the grotesque nature of war. It strips you of everything until the very end. Which is why there is no city greater than one that decides not to swing their swords at anyone. Raising an army of war in such a city will only poison its heritage.”

He cast Judgment one look, as if pitying her.

She scowled at the look.

”I will gouge out your eyes.”

Sael walked to the Nightmare Wyvern. ”Let’s go end this.” He climbed onto its back.

Judgment stalked toward the Radiant Seraph. As Sael took off, the black creature exploding from the walls in a burst of dark wind, she launched after him. Her creature rolled through the air like a radiant spear piercing the sky.

They crossed the vast expanse and descended on the soldiers of the Empire. What had been distant blurs of black and red resolved into formations of men as they drew closer.

The moment the soldiers identified two threats in their skyline, another column formed behind the ones firing at the wall. They raised bows toward the sky and loosed.

Thousands of arrows climbed toward them.

The white creature blurred and began to drop at terrifying speed. The black one dissolved into smoke and vanished entirely from view.

The Radiant Seraph struck the ground not far from the enemy line. What followed was a thunderclap that split the earth. Soldiers lost their footing as a vicious shockwave tore across their ranks, hurling the front line backward like scattered leaves.

In that same moment, the black smoke reformed in the middle of their endless formation.

And above them all, thousands of white arrows were already descending.